Investigation of satellite collision needs days or longer: U.S. spokesman

Source: Xinhua | 02-13-2009 08:00

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. State Department is in touch with the Russian government on the investigation of a collision in space between a U.S. commercial satellite and a Russian one, which could take days or longer, the U.S. State Department spokesman Rob McInturff told Xinhua on Thursday.

A computer-generated image released by the European Space Agency (ESA) shows trackable objects in Low Earth Orbit (LOE). US and Russian satellites crashed in space, the  first known major accident of its kind, creating two clouds of debris that were being tracked by experts. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

The U.S. government can not confirm the cause of the collision that happened on Tuesday, whether it was an accident or whether itwas preventable, and what can be confirmed is the collision happened between an active U.S. commercial satellite and an inactive Russian satellite, McInturff said.

He said other governments and commercial companies who have satellites in space can track the debris from the incident and assess the threat to their assets on the Internet at www.spacetrack.org, a public website managed by the U.S. Defense Department.

McInturff said space experts at the State Department believe there is a very low risk for the debris to fall into Earth, since it will burn up going through the Earth's atmosphere. There is also little chance that the debris could threaten the International Space Station.